Yes, but you DON'T HAVE TO OPEN THIS THREAD!!!

I was lucky to catch on TV and stream. Stream feed is about 2 minutes delayed from TV (not that it matters, but you can watch the stream while the TV has commercials and vice versa)

I am starting to wonder if SWE is USA kryptonite. SWE is blazing fast in moderate conditions (12-16kts TWS), and JPN had trouble pacing. I think JPN is the sister-ship of USA, so when Barker chose not to split on SWE, I wondered if the USA shore teams were eating up that data on the two two boats and their setup/speed/angle and other variables.

NZL seems to have the most consistent ride of the bunch, and it's a thrill to see Burling whip that 50' boat around a tack in less than a boatlength at 28 knots! Talk about some G-force

I also think I see some "pumping" by SWE and NZL which I would consider more "sawing the main" than pumping/kinetics.

Did anyone notice SWE wing control winch sounds like a playing card in a kid's bicycle spokes? And their foils make a hell of a racket? You would think that noise = drag but with their downwind speed it's probably a motivator for the crew to keep as fast as possible to get away from that screetch...

Sad to see Cammas so far back, but he's a distance guy anyway... and the team is underfunded. But that's about the only team with several nationals on it, right? I think I saw 2 or 3 Frenchmen on that team.

JPN has one native... Not sure if SWE has any.



I didn't read the DOG, but did I hear from the talking heads that NZL gets to pick who they sail against in the semi-finals? If so, I'd be looking really hard at the forecast... Not sure I'd want to tangle with SWE in heavy air, and I think JPN would be tough in the light since Barker is pretty good on tactics. GBR is the total wild-card since I never can tell what Ben's going to do. Maybe I'd pick them since Burling seems to have a way about getting into people's head and messing with them.

Must have something to do with his "old school" zinc oxide war paint

And when this is all over, I'd love to see the comparison on the actual energy output of the pedal vs. coffee grinder stations. I suspect NZL is doing a sh*t-ton more adjusting with Ashby(?) and his little Playstation handset... and the little twisting (rudder elevator?) on the helm...